Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen has explained why his reunion with former bandmate Paul Barker resulted in just one song on the industrial metal pioneers’ final album, “Hate To Go – Take Out Or Delivery”. Although the two initially considered making the entire record together, Jourgensen says their musical interests have moved in different directions since their original partnership.
Released on October 30 through Cleopatra Records, “Hate To Go – Take Out Or Delivery” is being presented as the band’s 17th and final studio album. Barker, who was a key part of Ministry’s sound from the mid-1980s into the early 2000s, appears on its closing track, “We’re Still Here”.
Speaking to Revolver, Jourgensen said he had deliberately planned to bring Barker back as part of the group’s farewell. The idea was to revisit the creative chemistry behind some of Ministry’s most influential recordings, while also involving former collaborators in other aspects of the final project.
However, once the musicians began working together, it became clear that their tastes had changed. Jourgensen explained: “What worked in the Nineties doesn’t work now.”
Rather than force an entire album out of the reunion, the pair agreed to concentrate on a single composition that would make room for both of their approaches. The result was “We’re Still Here”, which brings the album to a close.
In a separate interview with Forbes, Jourgensen described Barker as the more atmospheric musician and himself as the more metal-oriented one. Those contrasting instincts had worked together during their earlier years, but decades later the differences were harder to reconcile across a full record.
Jourgensen emphasized that the reduced musical collaboration does not reflect renewed hostility between the two. He said Barker now lives nearby and that they have become friends outside the band, something he suggested was not the case during their earlier working relationship.
The title “We’re Still Here” also carries personal significance for the musicians. Jourgensen sees it as an acknowledgment that, despite past disagreements and the passage of time, they have survived and found a way to work together again.
Barker was involved in the recordings of influential Ministry albums including “The Land of Rape and Honey”, “The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste”, “Psalm 69” and “Animositisomina”. His return on the farewell album therefore carries considerable significance for longtime listeners.
Jourgensen has repeatedly stated that “Hate To Go – Take Out Or Delivery” will be the final Ministry studio album. The band is now undertaking a farewell run, with Jourgensen discussing October 30, 2027, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, as a potential final concert date.
The album also reunites Jourgensen with Josh Bradford of Revolting Cocks, who has contributed to the project’s music videos. Jourgensen says the inclusion of familiar collaborators was intended to provide a fitting conclusion to the group’s long history.
For Barker and Jourgensen, “We’re Still Here” appears to have achieved that goal: not a recreation of their 1990s partnership, but a final shared statement on more amicable terms.
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